I’ve had the same wallet for over 10 years. To be honest, I never thought about replacing it. Sure the stitching around the leather was separating, and it lost its “new finish” but it was still “functional” if not at all attractive. After months of ragging from folks around the office, I broke down and bought a new wallet. I decided on the Trayvax Element.
I’ve had this wallet for some time and felt compelled to write a review. As an avid outdoorsman, my wallet takes abuse. I needed something that would stand up to what would inevitably happen to it.
Here’s what I found:
Functionality
The Trayvax Element is functionally simple. You can custom fit the leather to match the number of cards and cash you plan on carrying round by soaking the empty wallet it warm water for 10 minutes. The leather becomes very soft and allows you to shape it with your cards. Pretty cool feature. It also has a money clip that can store more money than I am comfortable carrying around.
A lot of people around 50 Campfires don’t even own a wallet. They’ve opted for phone cases with built-in card slots and money clips. Call me old-school or stubborn; I still like to have a wallet as part of my EDC. It sealed the deal with a built-in bottle opener.
Appearance
As you can see from the photos, this is about as sexy as a wallet gets. The bead-blasted stainless steel gives the Element a modern look while the leather keeps things classic. A small money clip just doesn’t cut it for me. I want something substantial to carry some of my most important items.
Durability
Manufactured in the USA from four domestically sourced materials: 5 oz top grain leather, 550 paracord, brass and stainless steel. This wallet is built to outlast anything.
Leather is an excellent material for clothing and gear. It is super durable and lasts for years. The failure point on any leather item, be it shoes, bags, jackets, or in this case wallets, is at the stitching. Luckily, this wallet does not have traditional stitching. A single, solid piece of leather is held in place with heavy-duty paracord. As you can see from the photos, the “frame” is built to last out of bead-blasted stainless steel; no more bending cards.
Cost
At nearly $80, the Trayvax Element is definitely on the more expensive end of traditional wallets. That being said, I would buy it again in a heartbeat. If my last leather wallet made it 10 years, I honestly expect this wallet to last decades. Seriously. Although math isn’t my best friend (we’re working things out) if this wallet lasts the same as my previous wallet, $8/year is an absolute steal for this gem.
